Dental educational device



1,342,156. PatentedJune 1, 1920.

R. 0.'BR|TTA|N. p DENTAL EDUCATIONAL DEVICE; APPLICATION FILED H18. 8, I919.

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UNITED STATES ROBERT O. BRITTAIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

Specification of Letters Patent.

DENTAL EDUCATIONAL DEVICE.

Application filed February 8, 1919. Serial No. 275,845.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT O. BRITTAIN, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dental Educational Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The object of my invention is the effecting of the hereinafter described improvements in devices for displaying or exhibiting articles in motion, and particularly dental paraphernalia, such as a tooth brush being properly employed for cleaning the teeth, silk floss being used for removing accumulations from between the teeth, and an artificial hand engaged in massaging the gums.

For such purposes, I provide a base containing the actuating motor, with a standard supporting the exhibiting articles and carrying the operating mechanism.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view, mainly from the front, of an exhibiting device embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a perspective view from the rear of the lower portion of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the operating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a part of the latter. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the motor-attachment. I

The base 1 and standard 2 are preferably formed as a casting, and integral, both being open at the back. The base is preferably made with a more or less fiat top 8, with its front rising vertically for substantially its height, and curved over at its upper part to the edges of the top sections 3. The standard 2 consists mainly of a plane central face 4 and a concave surface 5 at each side of the face, and a sloping roof covering the top. Although I have shown and described the base and standard as cast, their structure well adapts them for being stamped from sheet metal either as one, or in sections.

. Within the base 1 is secured a small electric motor 6 taking its power from any suitable source, and fixed in position by a screw 7 rising through a slot 9 in the bottom of the base. An operating shaft 10 is stepped in a bearing in the bottom 11 of the base, and rises vertically therefrom to any height within the standard desired.

For communicating power from the motor 6 to the shaft 10, the armature shaft of the motor has a worm 12 thereon which meshes with a worm gear 13 on the short vertical shaft 14. Close to the floor 11 the shafts 10 and 14 are provided with intermeshing spur gears 15, 16. Thus arranged, the shaft 10 can rise past the end of the motor almost touching it, thereby saving space. Were the worm 12 arranged to mesh with a worm gear upon the shaft 10, with the shaft still in the center of the standard and base, the latter would require to be made substantially w1der,double the radius of the worm gear more.

The upper sections of the standard 2 are not illustrated as carrying the full number of exhibitin devices of which they are capable, with the exception of a ferris-wheel v type of advertising device 17 having its op- .eratlng shaft 19 supported by a nose 20 projecting from the standard, but the lower section is shown in Fig. 1 as supporting three.

different but synchronously actuated devices, preferably but not necessarily carried by the same mechanism. This mechanism consists of a block 21 attached to a double hinge member 22, the latter being hinged at'its upper margin to a leaf 28, and at its lower margin to a leaf 24. The upper leaf 23 is pivotally supported by an elbow 25, and the lower leaf 24 is rigidly attached to appitman 26 which is both oscillated and reciprocated by an eccentric 27 mounted on the shaft 10. For economys sake, this eccentric is formed with an annular groove 29, and the pitman with two straps 3O fitting therein and held together by a slender cotter pin 31 passing through their projecting ends. 1

Thus constructed, as the eccentric revolves, the leaf 24 is given a partially rotary motion on the pivot 32 by which the upper leaf 23 is controlled, and at the same time a backward and forward movement as permitted by the two hinge joints. This gives similar but increased movements to the block 21 fastened to the member 22, and a more pronounced movement still to any arms rigidly projecting from this block.

To the block 21 I attach one or more exhibition devices to which is given the described vertical and lateral oscillation. In the drawings, three such devices are illustrated as attached to the same block 21, but I do not restrict myself to such number.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the three exhibition devices consist, first, of a pair of hand-shaped members 33 rigidly connected Patented J une 1, 1920.

to each other and the block 21, the hands supporting between them a length of thread or fine wire 34 designed to represent silk floss. Immediately above this thread and in contact therewith only when the hands are swung upward and laterally, is fixed a set of false teeth 35; so that when the machinery is in motion, the hands 33 will appear to be carefully cleaning out the spaces between the teeth with silk floss. j

The second exhibition device consists of a tooth brush 36 having its handle rigidly connected with the block 21, as by an arm 37, and adapted, by being a considerable distance to one side of said arm and block-to have a back and forward movement toward and froma row of'false teeth 39 fastened upon the adjacent shelf 3. As soon as the brush 36ha's moved into contact with these teeth, it will swing upward, and thereby give the effect of demonstrating the proper way to clean between the teeth.

The third device consists of a hand-shaped member 40 having its fingers flexed downward to be moved into contact with a set of false teeth 41, or, better, with their gums, the motion given it through the arms 42 connecting it with the block 21, serving to approximate the act of massaging the gums in a manner approved of in dental practice.

In the concave wings 5 I prefer to have a horizontal slot 43 in each, for the intr o duction of a removable shelf 44, the latter being retained in place by a spring clip 45 attached to the interior surface of each wing, as shown in Fig. 2. The shelves being thus held securely by the spring clips, can be employed for holding'small bottles of colored liquids, and other attractive articles.

lVhat I claim is:

1. Aneducational dental exhibit comprisinga hollow base and a hollow standard rising therefrom, a motor located in said base, a shaft rising from the floor of the base up within the standard,display movable members supported by the exterior of the standard, and means connected with said shaft, for moving said members,' said shaft passing almost in'co ltact with the end of said motor near its armature shaft, said shaft .and armature shaft belng operatively 0011- nected by means consisting of a vertical counter-shaft driven by the armature shaft,

and a pair of spur gears mounted on the counter-shaft and the first-named shaft respectively, out .of. interference with the motor, whereby the first-named shaft can rise in the-center of the standard and the.

portion of said top, an electric motor located in said base,-a vertical shaft rotated by said motor and "risingcentrally of "the erated by said shaft, the' hollow'base-having a slot opening from the edgeof its bottom, and a scr'ewi'ising through said slot into engagement with said motor;;

3. An educational dental; exhibit compris ing a hollow standard, a shaftthereim'means for turning said shaft, an eccentricmounted on said shaft, an eccentric strap and pit-Y man connected with said eccentric, a member having two leaves hinged to opposing sides,

one leaf being pivotally supported and the other leaf being attached to said' pitman,

a suitable'opening being provided through:

the front ofsaid standard, andan exhibition device connected with said member to receive motion in non-parallel planes. 1

4. An educational dental exhibit comprising a standard, a member having 'means giving 1t both a vertical and horizontaloscillation, a device projecting from saidmember, and a stationary dev ce relatlve to which said pro ect1ng devlce is moved. i

5. An educational dental exhibit comprising a standard, a member "having means giving it both vertlcal and horizontalosciltop, a hollow standard rising from the rear 7 standard, movable exhibition devices 'oplations, a plurality of differing exhibition devices projecting from said member,",no

two being disposed to receive like motions, and an. equal number of differing devices immovably supported by'said' standard, and each having one of said movable devices oscillated close thereto.

6. An educational dental exhibiticompris ing a revoluble shaft, ajmembei receiving.

shaft, a member projecting from the firs'tnamed member having, at its free end two oscillations in different planes from said ing said thread between certain :of; said-teeth as moved by the saidmembers.

In testimony that I "claim the foregoing invention I have hereunto set 7th day of February, 1919. 1

, ROBERT O. BBITTAIN.

my hand this I 

